Quarterly Update :: Issue 13


Quarterly Update :: Issue 13 :: Winter 2007

	Issue 13 Winter2007		Washington State Department of Labor and Industries





	www.LNI.wa.gov Apprenticeship \| Boilers/Pressure Vessels \| Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing Electrical \| Elevators \| Prevailing Wage \| Workplace Rights \| Events, Workshops & Rules


	Patrick Woods Assistant Director, Specialty Compliance Services		*Message from Patrick Woods* Welcome, and thank you for reading the winter edition of the Specialty Compliance Services (SCS) Quarterly Update. Here are a few important activities and events I’d like to share with you: Don’t miss contractor training and/or consumer education It’s been four years since we began offering contractor training days and consumer outreach events in response to our customers’ requests for training to meet the needs of their industry. Hundreds of contractors have participated in workshops on a variety of topics geared toward both seasoned contractors and those new to the business. Typically, 25 different classes are offered at each event, covering a range of L&I topics and also featuring other agencies and organizations. And you’ll also find us at the home shows, where we’ve talked with thousands of consumers about their rights when hiring a contractor. Shari Purves-Reiter, Outreach and Education Manager for SCS, is the organizer behind contractor and consumer outreach and training. These efforts are paid for through the contractor registration program as part of an initiative to better inform consumers about their rights and contractors about their responsibilities. If you haven’t attended a contractor training day, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. Check the contractor training day web site for the next one in your area. And next time you're at a home show, look for the L&I booth and stop by with your questions or just to say “hello.” Electrical corrections initiative gets results Contractors and L&I alike incur significant costs when corrections have to be made to an electrical installation before L&I can approve the work. Code violations expose building occupants to potential hazards if they are not identified and corrected. This causes delays and extra work and impacts everyone’s ability to provide efficient and effective customer service. L&I data showed that a small percentage of electrical contractors get the highest number of corrections. With that information, we began an initiative to encourage this group to improve their installations, with a goal of reducing the number of corrections. They responded by taking responsibility and becoming proactive in their efforts. As a result, the number of corrections has been reduced by 10 percent in only five months. We are well on our way to meeting the goal of reducing corrections by 15 percent by July 1, 2007. New Operations Manager I am pleased to announce that Kathy Whisler has joined SCS as Operations Manager. Kathy comes to us from L&I’s Insurance Services Division. She has worked at L&I for over 21 years. In fact, one of her first jobs at L&I was right here as supervisor of Contractor Registration. Welcome back to SCS, Kathy. I hope you find this issue of Quarterly Update useful and interesting. If you have questions, comments or additional suggestions, please send them to me at woor235@LNI.wa.gov. Thanks! Patrick Woods

	Apprenticeship
		Apprenticeship is formalized, industry-driven training. Each year, about 14,000 people participate in apprenticeship programs, which last between one to six years. L&I has 265 registered programs in the state, with more than 661 occupations. Elizabeth Smith, Apprenticeship Program Manager

Governor’s bill expands and strengthens apprenticeship

Last year, Governor Gregoire proposed and passed innovative legislation to strengthen and encourage "Running Start for the Trades" pre-apprenticeship programs. In these pre-apprenticeship programs, high schools and community/technical colleges coordinate closely with apprenticeship programs so that students are prepared to directly enter into apprenticeships upon graduation. Two separate grant “pots” were established to encourage and establish school-to-apprenticeship connections.

We previously reported that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction awarded the first set of grants to South Seattle Community College, Seattle Community College District Vocational Institute, New Market Vocational Skills Center in Tumwater and Lynnwood High School.

The Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council and L&I are responsible for awarding up to ten "incentive” grants of approximately $7,500 each to fund high school efforts to establish direct entry relationships with local apprenticeship programs.

Eight of these incentive grants have been awarded to schools around the state:

Clark County Skills Center, Vancouver
Seattle Public Schools, Seattle
East Valley High School, Spokane
Raymond High School, Raymond
South Bend High School, South Bend
Toppenish High School, Toppenish
West Valley High School, Spokane
Whatcom Tech Prep Consortium, Bellingham

Two more grants will be awarded in the coming months. We’ll announce them in the next issue of Quarterly Update.

New DVD promotes "The Original Four Year Degree”

Source: Rebecca Harrison, Ground Floor newsletter for October 2006

The Washington State Construction and Building Trades Council has released a DVD for educators interested in sharing information about apprenticeship. Two versions are available: one version targets students, and the other version is geared more towards parents. The DVD includes many familiar people and places from around the state.

To order the DVD, call 360-357-6778.

	Boilers/Pressure Vessels
		The Boiler and Pressure Vessel section has 12 inspectors and 120 Commissioned Insurance Inspectors. Their inspections help to ensure that 114,000 manufactured, installed or operated boilers and pressure vessels in Washington meet specific safety standards that prevent malfunctions that threaten public and employee life and safety. We enforce mandates of the five-member Board of Boiler Rules. Linda Williamson, Boiler Chief

Boiler inspectors busier than ever

I am often asked why the Boiler Section is so busy and continues to grow. These questions stem from a common misconception that boilers are a thing of the past and are being phased out of modern industries.

In reality, nearly 1,000 new boilers and approximately 5,000 new pressure vessels were installed in 2006. All totaled, the L&I Boiler Section oversees the inspection of nearly 105,000 boilers and pressure vessels.

To give you an example, Sierra Pacific Industries recently installed a boiler in a new mill in Burlington. This 105-foot boiler Photograph of the Sierra Pacific boiler house assembly has 27,690 square feet of heating surface and is designed to provide steam to the plant and to produce 30 megawatts of power. It is fired with 40–50 tons of hog fuel (wood waste) per hour. It is estimated that 15–20 megawatts will be going to the grid and the rest will be used by the plant itself. This boiler operates at 900 psi, 900 degrees Fahrenheit and has a water capacity of 17,000 gallons.

This photograph shows the Sierra Pacific boiler house.

While not many new boilers are this size, earlier in the year, Hampton Lumber Mill in Darrington installed a boiler with 23,819 square feet of heating surface — not quite as large but designed for the same type of operation.

Boilers have many varied uses, such as in-floor radiant heat, cooking salsa, cleaning clothes, curing bacon, brewing beer, sterilizing hospital equipment or compost, providing power, etc. To ensure safe operation, they require an initial installation inspection and periodic in-service inspections.

I hope this short explanation helps everyone understand why we are so busy with boiler inspections.

Board of Boiler Rules

L&I will be requesting that the Board of Boiler Rules revise several boiler codes in 2007. The Washington Administrative Code (WAC) will be updated to clarify definitions, how interpretation requests to the board are submitted, fee schedules for variances and review low-pressure boiler requirements and clearances. The Board of Boiler Rules meets five times a year. The 2007 schedule is posted in boiler web page along with meeting agendas. The public is invited to attend.

43rd Annual Washington State Boiler Inspectors Association to meet March 15

Start making plans for the 43rd Annual Washington State Boiler Inspectors Association (WSBIA) meeting on March 15 at the Seattle Museum of Flight. The name of this meeting may be somewhat misleading. Although WSBIA arranges the meeting, it is open to anyone involved with boilers and pressure vessels whether it is in sales, maintenance, operation, inspection or maybe as a hobby. These meeting are getting better every year and this one is promising to be the best yet. See the boiler web page for more information.

Welcome two new boiler inspectors

Please join me in welcoming two new boiler inspectors. Dan Brown, who works out of the Kennewick office, and Don Sage, who works out of the Tukwila office in Region 2. Both came to the jobs with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Please see the Boiler web page to find the inspector in your area.

	Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing
		L&I registers about 53,000 contractors and certifies about 7,000 plumbers in Washington. The Factory Assembled Structures (FAS) program has statewide public-safety responsibility for new and altered manufactured/mobile homes and recreational vehicles. FAS reviews and inspects 7,000-8,000 alterations each year and reviews about 3,600 plans. Statewide, 33 inspectors provide services for all three programs. Peter Schmidt, Contractor Compliance/ FAS/ Plumbing Program Manager

Purchase your Factory-Assembled Structures (FAS) permits online

We're pleased to offer a new online service to purchase FAS alteration permits and request inspections. You can also continue to purchase by mail or in person at a local L&I office.

Legislative proposal aims to strengthen protection from unregistered contractors

A new bill proposed by L&I aims to strengthen consumer protection laws by closing loopholes that leave consumers vulnerable. The proposed bill would:

Close the “property-owner” loophole. Currently, when superintendents and owners build and develop multiple structures, e.g., “spec” houses, they can do so under the guise of the “owner exemption” without being a registered contractor. The proposal would require them to become a registered contractor.

Correct recent superior court rulings that are contrary to past practices. For example, a recent ruling exempted cabinet installers from contractor registration laws. These proposed changes clarify the intent of the law, which was to require cabinet installers to be registered the same as all other contractors.

Require the prevailing party in a legal action against a contractor’s bond to notify L&I of legal actions and judgments within 10 days of a ruling.

Make a violation of the contractor registration law a gross misdemeanor to give local prosecutors additional time to seek prosecution.

Give L&I the ability to cite registered contractors who hire unregistered subcontractors.

For additional information on this legislative proposal, please contact Pete Schmidt at 360-902-5571.

New Well Driller, Pump and Irrigation Certification

A new law that passed in last year’s legislative session requires well drillers, pump and irrigation contractors, and any individuals working on these systems to get both plumbing and electrical licenses/certification. To complete the process, L&I adopted new regulations that became effective Dec. 31, 2006.

The new law requires all contractors and workers doing pump and piping work on domestic water systems and irrigation water systems to get both plumbing and electrical licenses/certification. Under the new law, only properly licensed contractors and individuals may place an electric pump motor in a well or do the associated electrical or plumbing work.

A new combined general contractor and electrical contractor specialty license was created so that contractors in either the domestic pump or the pump and irrigation systems business may perform this work under a single license, bond and insurance.

For workers, there is a new combined electrical and plumbing certificate.

Companies and individuals had a “grandfathering” period until Dec. 31, 2006, to use qualifying experience to get the proper license or certification without taking an examination. It is still possible to grandfather your experience in order to get your license or certification up until June 30, 2007, but you must also pass the written examination.

You may get the forms for certifying your experience at electrical forms and publications or by calling 360-902-5249.

Additional information is available at the well drillers web page or by contacting Roger Chick, Electrical Technical Specialist, at 360-292-5825 or Outreach@LNI.wa.gov.

	Electrical
		The Electrical program has statewide responsibility for inspecting new and altered electrical systems in all types of installations (RCW 19.28). It is also responsible for the electrical contractor licensing and electrician certification program. Some cities also do electrical inspections. Their standards of inspection must meet or exceed those required by L&I. Ron Fuller, Chief Electrical Inspector

Electrical fees reduced

Electrical rule revisions that became effective Dec. 31, 2006, include temporary fee reductions of about 5 percent for permit, licensing and certification fees. The reduced-permit fees are projected to be effective until Dec. 31, 2007. The licensing reductions will remain in place long enough to allow all electricians an opportunity to use the reduction one time. We will monitor the electrical fund balance to make certain this reduction does not have a negative impact on the program.

New reciprocal agreement with Texas

We are pleased to announce that Texas has become the newest state to enter into a journeyman-electrician reciprocal agreement with Washington State. Washington currently has reciprocity agreements with Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming and Utah. All reciprocity agreements are limited to (01) general journeyman electricians.

Texas currently certifies 40,000 journeyman electricians. L&I is in the process of sharing examinations with some of the reciprocal states in an attempt to create uniform electrician tests.

	Elevators
		The Elevator program's 18 inspectors are responsible for the inspection of approximately 13,000 conveyances. These include passenger and freight elevators, special purpose elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators, boat launch lifts, residential elevators and other conveyances. Jack Day, Chief Elevator Inspector

Elevator inspections on the increase

The Elevator Section saw an increase in business this past year. This kept us busy, but it also reflects a good economy in the state.

In 2006, the number of conveyance permits increased by a total of 141 over the previous year’s total of 886. This increased the number of annual inspections to 14,103 in 2006 – an increase of 442 conveyances in one year.

Alteration permits were also on the rise in 2006, with 178 more permits approved than the previous year, for a total of 688.

As I mentioned, this has kept our office and field staff very busy. From what I hear, the elevator companies are getting ready for another increase in business in 2007.

I want to give my thanks to all the elevator staff in the field and central office for the outstanding performance and professionalism they demonstrated throughout the past year. Thank you for a job well done.

Looking ahead, we will have some challenges. With the increase in new installations and alterations expected to continue, we need to keep all the elevator codes up to date. We are preparing to update to the 2004 ASME elevator code, with a goal of completing it by July 1. In addition, we hope to have a new office software program by July. All these items will require training and transition. We’ll work together to keep each other and our customers informed of all the changes.

As always, I want to invite and encourage your participation in the elevator-code update process. Participation from the elevator community not only fosters better relations, it also creates an atmosphere of understanding.

	Prevailing Wage
		The Washington State Public Works Act, also known as prevailing wage law, is a worker protection act to protect construction workers on public works jobs from substandard earnings. The Prevailing Wage program establishes prevailing wage rates for construction trades in each county, processes 70,000 intent and affidavit forms, investigates complaints, and verifies that prevailing wages are paid on public works jobs around the state. David Soma, Prevailing Wage Program Manager

Survey update

We received 2,000 responses to the wage-and-hour survey. Thank you very much to those of you who responded. The resulting rates from the survey will be published in August 2007.

Our next survey is scheduled to be mailed in March 2007. We will list the trades to be surveyed on the prevailing wage web site. In early March, we will offer training sessions in how to complete a prevailing wage survey. Employers and interested parties are invited to attend the training. Please check the web site above for the place, time, date and trades to be surveyed as those details become available.

Prevailing Wage working with labor and business on key issues

The staff has been working with labor and business representatives on a number of important topics that include:

Cataloguing all past determinations.
Writing new scopes of work for job classifications without a scope.
Cconsidering the possibility of adding subcontractors to the affidavit form.
Reviewing the upcoming budget request and future staffing needs.

The prevailing wage advisory committee is also planning to discuss possible legislative proposals for the 2008 legislative session.

Process Improvement

We’re working on a pilot program to make certain that when a subcontractor is the violator on a public works job, a notice of violation is issued to the subcontractor – even when it is the prime contractor on the job who pays the back wages to the employees. This ensures that all parties are held accountable.

Linda Louise recognized for outstanding customer service

I’d like to take a moment to thank Linda Louise for going above and beyond the call of duty during a time of significant changes. Linda willingly takes on additional tasks when she sees a need and finds solutions to problems. She’s always willing to help her co-workers when there’s a backlog. Thanks Linda!

	Workplace Rights
		The Workplace Rights program has 20 Industrial Relations Agents who work on issues involving wage payments and working conditions. Agents inform the public about the laws, provide consultation to employers, investigate alleged violations, determine wage-claim validity, mediate and negotiate wage-claim settlements and prepare cases for litigation. Richard Ervin, Employment Standards Program Manager

New minimum wage took effect Jan. 1

Washington’s minimum wage increased 30 cents to $7.93 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2007.

L&I recalculates the state’s minimum wage each year in September as required by Initiative 688, which Washington state voters approved in 1998. The initiative requires the state to adjust the minimum wage according to the change in the federal “CPI-W,” which is a national index covering the cost of goods and services needed for day-to-day living. That index rose 3.9 percent during the 12 months ending Aug. 31, 2006.

Washington’s minimum wage applies to workers in both agriculture and non-agricultural jobs, although 14- and 15-year-olds may be paid 85 percent of the adult minimum wage, or $6.74 an hour.

Free minimum wage and worker rights posters are available from any L&I office or by calling 1-866-219-7321 or downloading from the L&I web site at Wages.LNI.wa.gov.

Payment Interval rule changes

In January, L&I adopted new rules clarifying payment interval requirements and incorporating existing policies into rule. The new rule is easier to understand and use, without having to rely on additional documents for interpretation.

The rule retained previous requirements that wages must be:

Paid at least once a month;
Paid, mailed or mailed or electronically deposited on an established payday;
Paid no later than 10 days after the end of the pay period, except for monthly payroll periods.

Additionally, the rule allows employers to establish separate pay periods for overtime wages as long as workers are paid no later than the payday for the following pay period.

The rule becomes effective March 1, 2007. For a complete copy of the new payment interval rule, see new rules and changes.

Wage Payment Act

Last year, the Legislature passed the Wage Payment Act, which we have been busy implementing. Initial success has been great. One of the first claims processed under the new law was settled in one day, with the worker getting paid and no legal action required. The wage claim was resolved to the satisfaction of both the worker and the employer.

Other L&I information

At L&I's Claim & Account Center, employers, workers, doctors, RETRO groups and third-party administrators can check the status of workplace injuries, check employer accounts, and send information to L&I. The Claim & Account Center is fast, secure, easy to use, and it's free!




	Events Contractor Training Days Feb. 9, Tumwater Labor and Industries headquarters April 13, Seattle Wood Construction Center Nov. 9, Spokane Valley Center Place Register now for these free events at contractor training days. Consumer Education Events Seattle Home Show 2 Feb. 17-25 Qwest Event Center Regional Home and Garden Show Feb. 23-25 TRAC, Pasco Whatcom Co. Home and Garden Show March 20-24 Lynden Fairgrounds Proposed rule changes, public hearings Board of Boiler Rules Meeting March 20-21, 10 a.m. Tacoma Labor and Industries Room 3 950 Broadway, Suite 200 Tacoma, WA



	Office of Information and Assistance: 1-800-547-8367 Contractor Registration Verification: 1-800-647-0982 Report-a-Fraud Hotline (to report unregistered contractors): 1-888-811-5974 Employment Standards Information (minimum wage, overtime, working conditions, teen workers, prevailing wage, agricultural workers): 1-866-219-7321



	Issue 13, Winter 2007



	ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER Quarterly Update is an e-mail newsletter distributed four times a year by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' Specialty Compliance Services division. Receiving this newsletter is the best way to keep up to date on Specialty Compliance Services' activities and issues. Subscriptions: To subscribe, or to unsubscribe, go to (URL and instructions) Trades and Licensing web site: www.LNI.wa.gov/ TradesLicensing Workplace Rights web site: www.LNI.wa.gov/ WorkplaceRights

Specialty Compliance Home | Apprenticeship | Boilers/Pressure Vessels | Contractor Registration

Factory Assembled Structures | Electrical | Elevators | Employment Standards

Message from Patrick Woods

Apprenticeship

Boilers/Pressure Vessels

Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing

Electrical

Elevators

Prevailing Wage

Workplace Rights

Other L&I information

Events

Contractor Training Days

Consumer Education Events

Proposed rule changes, public hearings